The blog covers releases in the areas of free and mainstream jazz, world music, "art" rock, and the blues. Classical coverage, which was originally here, continues on the Gapplegate Classical-Modern Review (see link on this page). Where are we right now and how did we get here? That's the concern.

Thursday, September 4, 2014

Fred Tompkins, Fanfare 8: The Early Works

I had the good fortune to come across the music of Fred Tompkins partly because I was studying way back when with the great Elvin Jones, and Fred put out one or two albums of his music (distributed by the JCOA folks) that Elvin mentioned to me. Elvin was on much of the music, plus some great players like Jimmy Owens, Farrell, Liebman, Pepper Adams, Grossman, Richard Davis, Ron Carter, etc.

Fred's music combined modern classical and jazz in ways nobody else quite managed to pull off then, so I was quickly converted to a great appreciation of his compositions.

Time went by, I had to sell my first record collection to help raise money for grad school, and by the time all that was over I could not find the albums again.

Quite thankfully Fred has been in touch (because of my blogs) and has sent me a CD compilation of those years, Fanfare 8: The Early Works of Fred Tompkins (F.K.T. Records). I am glad he did. If anything the music sounds even better to me now than it did then, partially because there was so much I was trying to absorb in those days I suppose. But also because it now seems clearer how good these works are since we can hear them fresh again in a later era.

Fanfare 8 gives you a bumper crop of Tompkins works from those days, with the jazz luminaries holding forth but always in the compositional frameworks Fred set up. There are 14 compositions in all represented here, all in their own way gems, covering the period of 1967-1981.

The rhythm sections improvise, there are horn solos here and there. The rest is as Fred notated the works. This was a great idea as the works swing (greatly, especially with Elvin in there) yet there is modern classical structure and jazz feel combined.

I won't run through a description of each, because the music speaks so eloquently that my words don't seem necessary. It is a blockbuster collection for anyone interested in the modern nexus. Tompkins was one of the greatest, if lesser known, of the so-called "third-stream" composers. He's still at it, too, but has as expected evolved. I have a newer disk I'll cover soon.

About Me

I am a life-long writer, musician, composer and editor. I wrote for Cadence for many years, a periodical covering jazz and improv music. My combined Blogspot blogs (as listed in the links) now cover well over 3,000 recordings in review. It's been a labor of love. The music is chosen because I like it, for the most part, so you won't find a great deal of nastiness here. I have no affiliations and gain nothing from liking what I do, so that makes me somewhat impartial. I do happen to like a set of certain musics done well, so it's not everything released that gets coverage on these blogs. I have thirteen volumes of compositions available on amazon.com. Just type in "Grego Applegate Edwards" to find them. (But one is under "Gregory Applegate Edwards.") I went to music and higher education schools and got degrees. It changed my life and gave me the ability to think and write better. I've studied with master musicians, too. The benefits I gained from them are invaluable. I appreciate my readers. You are why I write these reviews. I hope the joy of music enriches your life like it does mine. Thank you. And thank you to all the artists that make it possible.